1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to a photographic film package more commonly known as a single-use or disposable camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Single-use or disposable cameras have become well known. Generally, each single-use camera is a point-and-shoot type that comprises a plastic inner camera shell or body and a paper-cardboard outer packaging that tightly encases the inner camera shell. The inner camera shell houses or supports the various camera components such as a fixed-focus taking lens, a film advance and metering mechanism, a shutter, a simple see-through viewfinder, a frame or exposure counter, a manual film advance thumbwheel, etc. The outer packaging has respective openings for the taking lens, the viewfinder, the frame counter, and the thumbwheel. At the manufacturer, the camera shell is loaded with a conventional 24-exposure 35 mm film cartridge, and substantially the entire length of the unexposed filmstrip is factory pre-wound from the cartridge into a supply chamber of the camera shell. After the photographer takes a picture, the thumbwheel is manually rotated to rewind the exposed frame into the cartridge. The rewinding movement of the filmstrip the equivalent of one frame rotates a metering sprocket to decrement the frame counter to its next lower numbered setting. When the filmstrip is fully exposed and completely rewound into the cartridge, the single-use camera is sent to a photofinisher who processes the filmstrip and recycles certain camera parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,866, issued Mar. 14, 1989, discloses a single-use camera comprising an opaque main body section pre-loaded with a roll film and including the shutter and the taking lens, an opaque back cover section attached to the rear of the main body section to light-tightly shield the film, and a transparent front cover section attached to the front of the main body section and having an integral single-element taking lens or an integral single-element finder lens and an integral viewfinder tunnel. A cardboard opaque box tightly encases the main body section and the front and rear cover sections, and has a front opening for the single-element taking or finder lens.
Problem to be Solved By the Invention
When in a single-use camera the front finder lens is integral with a transparent cover section of the camera body and the inside surface of the cardboard box is light-reflective ( for example because it is white or lightly colored), as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,866, ambient light transmitted through the front finder lens will be reflected off certain portions of the inside surface of the cardboard box which lie over the transparent front cover. Consequently, the peripheral edge of the front finder lens may appear to have undesireable bright spots that interfere with the view through the see-through viewfinder of a subject to be photographed.